New Study Suggests Genome Duplication Helps Plants Survive in Saline Soils

A joint study by researchers from Purdue University and University and Aberdeen has found that having more than two sets of chromosomes can increase a plant's ability to take up nutrients and survive in saline soils. Researchers found that polyploidy, the condition of having more than two genome copies, causes the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana to accumulate potassium in its leaves and have high tolerance to saline conditions.

According to Brian Dilkes, assistant professor of horticulture and landscape architecture at Purdue, polyploidy has an immediate, direct influence on the accumulation of required nutrient elements in plant leaves and play a role in plant adaptation. Dilkes also said that the altered nutrient uptake observed in A. thaliana could hold true for other plant species.

The research team measured 21 elements in the leaves of diploid and polyploid A. thaliana specimens from around the world. They found that A. thaliana tetraploids (plants with four identical sets of chromosomes) had a distinct nutritional advantage over their diploid counterparts, with a 32 percent greater potassium concentration in leaves. The findings of the study can be used in a variety of species, as many crops are already polyploids.

For more details about this study, read the news release available at:
http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q3/study-genome-duplication-aids-plants-survival-in-saline-soils.html.